


Richard & Me

by thatdankhammondlover



Category: Richard Hammond - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-08-10 14:17:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7848307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatdankhammondlover/pseuds/thatdankhammondlover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Bit of a short one.<br/>Sorryyyyyyy :)</p>
          </blockquote>





	1. The Meet and Greet

I drove up gingerly to the Top Gear studio, I had never been so nervous for my first day, but then I remembered that it was everyone's first day really, nerves were bound to be lurking around all over the place. That made me feel a bit better, if my new colleagues were to be as anxious as me then I wouldn't have to worry. I had parked my car in the somewhat deserted car park. ‘Well at least there won't be too many people to see me mess up’ I thought. I stumbled out of my car and slammed the door, rotating my keys on my one stubby finger as I walked away, making myself appear more confident then I actually was.

While I was walking, I spotted Jeremy next to the production office, he saw me and gave me a friendly wave, grinning from ear to ear. He was clearly excited, and his warm smile gave me courage, I instantly forgot about my nerves. He greeted me with a gentle hug and walked me into the office.  
“Now I suppose you are dying to meet the other two right?” Jeremy asked.   
“I can't wait!” I replied With that, Jeremy guided me through a doorway, there I saw two other blokes chatting to one another. They looked up and one of them came towards me, offering his hand to shake mine.   
“Hi, I'm James! Lovely to finally meet you” He said with a gentle smile. “Lovely to meet you too James!” I replied, smiling back. My attention then turned to the man standing behind James, waiting to greet me. As James moved out of the way, our eyes met and we smiled at each other.  
“Hello!” He said “I'm Richard, it's a pleasure to meet you!” He took a fairly long pause before introducing himself, his eyes locked on mine the whole time.  
“Hi Richard! It's great to meet you!” I said, I slightly stuttered my words as I was baffled by his charm and kindness. “What's your name then?” James asked. “Oh yeah, my names Jess” I said, me and Richard still staring at each other.

After the meet and greet, we chatted for hours on end, about cars we owned or once owned, cars we disliked or loved, where we grew up, where we live and the list goes on. We had such a laugh sharing our stories and we instantly linked as a group. Later on I needed to go outside for a break. I wondered around the place a bit when I stumbled upon a Porsche 911 in the car park. I stared in awe, and inspected every last inch of it. I loved Porsche 911’s, I was mad about them. I then heard footsteps behind me, and a warm comforting voice appeared.   
“Do you like it?” Richard came up behind me, and placed his chin on my shoulder. “I love it!” I said “It's everything I've ever dreamed it would be” Richard then took out some keys from his pocket.   
“Want me to take you for a drive?” He said.  
“Really!?”   
He nodded.   
“Hell yeah!” I said.

Richard then placed a hand on my shoulder and guided me to the passenger door, opening it for me as I climbed in. He raced to the other side and climbed in, and placed the key into the ignition. The engine then roared into life, Richard revving the car so the car spluttered out the intense noise coming from beneath the bonnet. I looked over at Richard with wide eyes and he winked at me as he pulled off towards the runway. He lined up the car.  
“Ready?” He said as he revved the engine.   
“Go for it” I replied.   
And with that, the car sped off across the runway. Richard making fast and sharp gear changes as it went. We both screamed with joy as the car flew across the tarmac, at a terrifying speed. We were edging towards the end of the runway, then Richard started to slow the car down, and he drove to the start again.   
“Your turn” He said with a charming smile. My heart beat rose quickly. “What!?”   
“It's your turn now”   
“No way your joking me”   
“If it was a joke we’d be laughing”   
I stared at him.  
“Please have a go I'm begging you” Richard said, his big brown eyes glittering. This made me blush, he looked ever so cute like that.   
“Okayyyy fineee” I said eventually giving in.

We swapped seats and I started the engine again, without hesitation I drove away, leaving tyre marks at the start line, burning rubber intensely. We screamed with joy again, as the car sped faster and faster, until eventually the end of the track was near. I slowed down and made my way to the start line again. Richard looked at me intensely.   
“You are amazing Jess!” He stuttered “That was bloody brilliant!”   
“Thank you! You're not too bad yourself” I said a with a smile.

We jumped out the car and walked back towards the production office.   
“You're truly a natural” Richard said turning towards me.   
“Thank you!”   
“No really you are” I blushed again and looked towards the ground. When I looked up I saw Richard was still looking at me. He gave me a warm smile and put an arm around me.   
“You should come over mine sometime and we can do some rally driving, I have a place near to mine I always use” He said.  
Did he really just offer me to come round his house one day? This was an offer worth taking by a mile.   
“Of course! I'd love to, It'll be so fun!” I replied.   
“Good! I really enjoy it, but I think I would enjoy it more now that I'll finally have some company” He said.   
I smiled at him as we walked into the office, but just then Jeremy appeared. “Good days work aye! Even though we haven't done any, time to head off home now, see you next Wednesday” He said as he and James walked out.   
“The day is over already?” I said.   
“I know right, I was having way too much fun today!” Richard said, looking a little saddened

We then grabbed our things and walked towards the car park.   
“I so much fun today, thank you for letting me drive your Porsche Richard” I said.  
“No problem! I enjoyed letting you drive it”   
We both giggled, then I reached my car.  
“See you next week then sweet” Richard said.  
“Yeah, until next week aye”   
We gave each other a warm hug and departed. ‘Next week will be well and truly fun’ I thought…


	2. The Invite

A week past by painfully slow, and all I could think about was Richard. He sent my mind into overdrive and could never concentrate on anything while he was on my mind. I needed to calm the heck down. I ignored my thoughts and feelings on that Wednesday when we were due to come back to the studio to actually do some filming this time. I didn't want to look like an idiot in front of him. ‘It’s early days, I can’t possibly have feelings for him now’ I thought to myself.

I drove up to the car park, confident that I wasn't going to make a fool of myself today, and made my way to the studio. I saw the three of them sat down on the stage, chatting amongst themselves, then Jeremy found me.   
“Hey look!, this set is fabulous isn't it!” He shouted as he stood up to greet me.  
“It's brilliant! I love it!” I said, glancing over at the stage.  
“We better get started soon, there's an audience waiting for us” He said. “Come over here and let's just read over the scripts and I'll show you where your seat is too”  
I followed Jeremy to the stage and he pointed to a seat in-between James and Richard.  
“There you are dear that's your seat, and here's a script” Jeremy said as he handed me some papers stapled together in a booklet.

“Hi you!” Richard said as I sat down next to him. That was it, my feelings all came flooding back to me yet again, darn it.  
“Hey Richard!” I replied, hoping he wouldn't say more, but he did.  
“How was your weekend, what you been up to?” He said.  
“Oh it was alright I guess, not done much really, what about you?” I was doing okay so far. This made me feel relieved.  
“Oh I haven't done much either, few trips with the dogs but that's about it”  
“Oh that's good! Where did you take the dogs?” I asked.  
“Just up to the usual trail I take them next to mine, they really enjoy it there, great place for them to run around in”   
I was so intrigued to know more, but didn't want to ask too many questions, Richard then carried on.  
“Do you have any dogs?” He asked.  
“Oh yeah! Just the one though, my pug, he's called Daniel” I said.  
“Aww how lovely, friendly dogs they are, you should bring him to meet my dogs!” He said.  
My mind exploded. He was suggesting another invite?! I must be dreaming. I really wanted to grin, but didn't want to show it just in case I looked stupid. I then realised I left the silence too long, so I blurted out with whatever came to mind.  
“Yeah that would be great! He could really do with some new friends” I answered eventually.   
Then Jeremy's voice echoed into our conversation.  
“Okay let's get with looking over this aye?”   
We darted our eyes and glanced at our scripts. There was a deafening silence while we concentrated on memorising the script, just briefing ourselves on what events there were to take place on the show today.

James then broke the silence and piped up, cracking a joke about the script. We bawled with laughter about it, and afterwards, we discussed what would happen today and what we were suppost to say at what times etc. Eventually we were ready to perform, for the first time ever, Top Gear is now officially ready to be born. We were given our ‘good lucks’ from the crew as the audience piled up around the stage where we all stood, ready to give our best performance. The theme tune started to play, and we looked at each other with excitement written all over our faces. Richard then caught my eye, and mouthed a ‘good luck’ to me, and I mouthed back, Richard winking at me in the process. I shuddered with a sense of pleasure and excitement protruding though me, I did my best to try and ignore it. The audience applauded us as the tune came to an end and Jeremy introduced Top Gear for the very first time, we smiled and beamed as the audience looked at us in awe.

As the show progressed, we became more and more confident, we became especially confident after the news segment, which had everyone in tears, even the crew were aching with laughter. When the show ended we grinned at each other as if to say ‘well done, we did so well!’ We gained much positive reviews from the producers. When it was about time we went home, we walked to the production office, we were still in aches of laughter from the news segment we did, recalling each moment that happened, and practically crying because we were laughing that much.

I grabbed my possessions as the others walked out the door, and hurried to catch up. James and Jeremy were far away by the time I walked out, but Richard was standing by the door waiting for me. I smiled at him and said thanks to him for waiting for me.  
“So what about bringing your dog to mine then?” He asked with a sneaky smile.  
I was bursting with excitement, he didn't forget what he said beforehand.  
“Yes, that would be brill!” I replied  
He gave me his address, and it turned out that he didn't live too far away from me. I thanked him and we shared a hug again before we departed.  
‘I'll call you!” He shouted before he drove away.  
I couldn't wait, and I'm sure Daniel couldn't either. He hasn't had many doggy friends in his life since I broke up with my boyfriend a few months ago. His dog was called Talulah, she was a blonde Labrador, so full of joy, a very flamboyant dog indeed. We used to take the dogs for a walk at the park all the time, and they would always play with each other. But now I had nothing to do with him. Daniel now had lost his best friend. I felt really bad for him, knowing we were the ones separating him and Talulah, breaking their friendship.   
Now knowing that I'm going to Richards soon, he will finally be able to make some new friends. And that made me truly happy…


	3. The Dog Walk

  
A few weeks later, I drove onto the gravely drive, with a very overexcited dog into the back of my Land Rover Defender. I was also very overexcited, so I couldn't really tell him to stop, otherwise that would be too hypocritical. Coming to a stop and fumbling with my keys as I came out the car, a large pack of barking, joyful dogs came flooding towards me. I crooned a “hello” to each one of them, then got Daniel out the back of the car. He leaped out, and ran like a bullet fired from a gun around the driveway with the other dogs. To my surprise, a warm hand touched my shoulder, I turned with a huge smile on my face, knowing it was Richard straight away because of the gesture.

“Hello you! So you found it then?” He said with a cheeky grin on his face.  
“Hi! And yes of course, it's a very lovely place” I bestowed my eyes upon the acres of land surrounding a beautiful, tall building. I was truly amazed of how wonderful it was.  
“Thank you, I really do love it here, very peaceful and quiet, well, with those lot over there it's not that peaceful and quiet” He joked, both of us letting out a little giggle.  
“Wanna come inside then? Just put the kettle on” Richard asked.  
“I would love too, thanks” I replied.  
His hand still placed on my shoulder he lead me in, calling the dogs as we walked. Surprisingly I didn't have to call Daniel, he followed Richards command instantly. He wasn't always the best at following my commands at times, and for him to obey this quickly left me gobsmacked.

Richard left the dogs in the garden so they could play for a bit together and get to know each other. Then he showed me though to the kitchen and I sat at the table while he made the coffee, he made his way back with two mugs in his hands suddenly and handed one to me as he sat next to me. We chatted a lot, about nearly everything. Our past careers, what we did as a child, and even what food we like and don't like. We had a laugh here and there, and when he told me the story about when he was working on a radio show, and he crashed a van on the first day, it made us both cry with laughter. I told a few funny stories from when I was a child, and those also made our stomachs ache as we were laughing so much.

I now knew so much about Richard, his personality, the way he laughed and told his interesting, funny stories. He’s just, adorable. I completely forgot about ignoring my feelings for him, I felt that there was no point anymore, the feelings for Richard would flood back involuntarily whether if I liked it or not.   
Unfortunately the mood changed slightly when he asked me about any past relationships I've had. The one question I hoped he wouldn't ask about, because it always upset me.   
I sat and stuttered a bit.  
“Well, erm… I was in a fairly serious relationship nearly a year ago now. It lasted 2 years but I had to end it, because, well, there was someone else..”  
I started to well up, but I tried to hold back the tears.  
‘That's terrible” Richard said. He then placed his hand on mine. The warmth from his hand, touching my cold skin, it was so enticing, so calming. It send shivers down my spine, and I loved it.   
“Yeah, he was cheating on me with someone else, and he had been for a whole year. How he managed to keep it from me for that long, I have no idea…but I found out when one night I said I would be sleeping over at my friends house because we had work to do and it would take ages to complete, so I went, and a few hours later I realised I forgot some important paperwork, so I went back, opened the door and there they were, him and her all over each other…”   
I paused for a long while, until Richard squeezed my hand.  
“You okay?” He asked calmly.  
“Yeah, yeah, it's just… I loved him, I really did, I thought we had something…”  
A tear then escaped my eye, and rolled down my cheek.  
Richard then jumped out of his chair, and crouched down next to me, knowing that I needed comfort. He held my hands in his, his eyes looking into mine with deep concern. He then let go of my hands and placed them around my waist and I fell into his warm embrace in an instant, wrapping my arms around him. He held me tightly as he pulled me into him and started rocking me backwards and forwards lightly on the cold, stone floor.   
“It's okay baby, it's okay” He said softly.  
Utter comfort radiated thorough me, as he held me, My head against his chest, with his hand cradling the back of it, his fingers buried in my hair. I felt so warm and calm in his arms, I couldn't help but form a slight smile.

After sitting with him for a few more minutes, making sure I had calmed down, we looked into each other's eyes and smiled.  
“Sure your okay now?” Richard asked.  
“I'm better than okay now” I said as I wiped a tear away from my cheek and sniffled slightly.  
He then smiled and held my hand as he helped me up on my feet.  
“Shall we walk the dogs now then? A good walk always helps” He offered.  
“Sure, Daniel could always do with a good walk too!” I said happily.  
With that I followed Richard as we grabbed the leads and headed outside.  
“I forgot to mention as well, that one there is Captain, that is Bleaberry and this is Misha” He said pointing to each dog as he mentioned their names.   
I gave each one a scratch behind the ears and then let Richard put their leads on.

I put on Daniels lead, then Richard gave me Captain. Confident that we were ready to go, we then trailed through the back gate through some woodland, eventually leading to a vast field, with lime green grass and a pale blue sky above us.   
Richard let Blea and Misha go off the leads, so I let Daniel and Captain off too, and they ran into to distance wildly, leaving me and Richard to walk slowly behind them.  
“This is nice isn't it?” He said.  
“It's lovely!” I replied.  
We then spent the walk talking more about our lives and other gossip we had to share, then sitting on the field when we got tired and threw sticks for the dogs. When we decided to walk back, Richard put an arm around my neck and let out another one of his precious giggles as he did. I then did the same, placing my arm around him as we walked. It wasn't until we got towards the start of the woodland passage when we had to put the dogs back on the leads that we broke apart, this saddened me a little, but he placed Misha’s lead around his wrist so his hand was free, he then sneakily slipped his hand into mine. I felt comfort flow through me once again, and we both let out a slight hum as we held hands. As we entered though to the garden again, we broke apart and let the dogs off their leads. This time I felt worse because I knew I had to go then.  
“Well thank you so much for everything today’ I said as we walked out the door to my Land Rover.  
“No problem, it's great having you here” Richard said.  
I placed Daniel in his cage and made my way round to open the door, when suddenly Richard softly placed his hand around my wrist and pulled me back so I was looking at him.  
“Where's my hug you?” He said with a cheeky smile on his face yet again. No one had no idea how much I wanted to just grab his face and kiss him, but I had to resist his cuteness.  
“Of course!” I said as I wrapped my arms around him. He gave me a tight squeeze before letting me go, and I clambered in to the car starting the engine and winding down the window.  
Without warning Richard placed his arm onto the door when I opened the window, obviously not wanting me to go so soon.  
“I'll see you later then, I'll call you so we can arrange another meet up aye?” He said.  
“Yeah of course, can't wait” I said.  
“Me neither” Richard said. He then caressed my cheek with his index finger, arm still on the door.   
“Drive safely then will you?” He said.  
“I will, I promise” I replied not wanting him to stop.  
He eventually stepped back smiling. He then waved goodbye and I reversed and drove away, me waving back.   
‘Oh lord help me’ I thought ‘Jesus Christ he’s so cute and handsome’  
Daniel also sounded like he had a good time, he couldn't stop barking with happiness.   
“Don't worry Dan, we’ll be back soon, we’ll be back soon…”


	4. The Sleepover

A few weeks later prior to visiting Richard, I had a text message off Jeremy to say that I needed to do some filming tomorrow to test a new supercar, the Lamborghini Aventador SV. I was so excited, this was what I was looking forward to since I started Top Gear. Without hesitation, I wanted to call Richard about it, but as if he read my mind, my phone vibrated and ‘Hamster’ came up on my screen. I answered it.  
“Hiya Jess, just wondering if you wanted to come rally driving with me tomorrow afternoon like I said we would before?” He asked.  
“I would love to Richard!” I said “oh and you'll never guess what I'm driving tomorrow for Top Gear”  
“what is it?” He said eagerly.  
“The Lambo Aventador SV” I said excitedly.  
“No way! You lucky sod!” Richard said.  
We both giggled.  
“Hey” He said “I was wondering, can I just pop round yours for a bit?” He asked.  
“Richard it's nearly midnight you sure you wanna be driving at this time of night?” I asked.  
“It's fine don't worry, I just really wanna see you” he said.  
“Okay then, I can't be arsed to go downstairs at the moment, I'm in bed, the doors open just invite yourself in” I explained.  
“Sure thing, I'll be right there” with that he put the phone down.

I wasn't really tired that night, and I'm glad I wasn't if Richard was coming round. I ignored the fact that he was coming round at a ridiculous time of night, I didn't care, because it was Richard.   
I then heard the door open downstairs. My heart beat rose quickly as he made his way upstairs and knocked on my door.   
“You here?” He whispered.  
“Yeah come in babs” I replied.  
He opened the door then closed it behind him. There he stood in his dark blue jeans, shirt and leather jacket, his scruffy chestnut hair, big brown eyes looking at me. He looked so handsome, I just couldn't help but smile and shiver with pleasure when he walked in.   
“Come sit here then” I said, patting the space next to me.  
He took off his jacket and shoes, then sat beside me, fairly close. The smell of his aftershave overwhelmed my senses, I wanted nothing than just to bury my head in his chest and take in his wonderful scent.   
“You okay then?” He said, placing an arm behind his head for support, looking down into my eyes as I sat slightly further down.  
“I'm good actually” I said.  
Looking back deeply into his eyes.  
“How are you?” I asked.  
“I've never been better now I'm here with you” he answered.   
I looked at him with surprise. I then let out a giggle and looked towards the tv, knowing that I was blushing.  
“Is that why you've come here? To be with me?” I asked, acting unsure why he's here in the first place.  
“Of course!” He answered looking into my eyes deeply.  
“I bloody missed you” he confessed, placing an arm around my neck and pulling me closer to him.  
“I missed you too” I said snuggling up to him.  
That night we sat and cuddled, watching the tv aimlessly. My mind wandered, ‘Richard missed me?’ I thought. ‘Oh lord he's too cute, I love this guy way too much’   
I snuggled up a bit more to him while I thought.

It was nearing 1 in the morning, I had checked the time on my phone.   
“Hey Rich, it's 1 o’clock should you be thinking about getting back?” I said.  
He looked at me, quite saddened, his hamster eyes glittering in the light of the tv.  
“But I don't wanna go…” He said holding me tighter.  
“Can I stay with you the night?” He asked   
“Sure, of course but where will you sleep?” I said.  
“With you here” he suggested, putting on a charming smile. I smiled back and nodded my head.  
“I might have some pyjamas that will fit you, I'll be right back” I said moving out of the bed towards my drawers. Stupidly, I always bought men's pyjamas, they were more baggy and loose fitting, I found them so much comfier then female ones.   
I bought out a pair that I thought would fit him and handed them to him. He had already started unbuttoning his shirt.  
“Here you go, these should fit” I said.  
“Thank you so much sweetheart” he said as he took them, but also taking me with him into a close hug, then planting a kiss on my head, obviously grateful that I'm letting him stay.  
“That's okay” I said.  
We pulled away, and I saw his top button still not undone, I let my temptation give in, and undid it for him. Then his shirt popped open slightly, revealing some of his chest. We smiled, but I didn't look for too much longer so I didn't look stupid, and I made my way back to the bed, snuggling under the duvet for warmth.   
With that, I watched him take off his shirt, revealing the whole of his upper body. Then he pulled down his jeans, now only standing in his boxers. I tried so hard not to look but could never help it. He put on the pyjamas, then turned to look at me as he made his way to the other side of the bed, placing his clothes in a pile on my dressing table on the way. He lifted the duvet and came into bed beside me. His forearms now bare, when he pulled me close, I felt his warm, enticing skin touch mine, it once again sent shivers down my body and I snuggled closer to him, desperate for more of him to touch me.

I then turned to my bedside table, breaking away from him, and turned the light off, with a faint click, the room went dark. Now the room pitch black, Richard felt more confident, when I came away from the table, he reached for me and placed his hand on my waist, pulling me closer to him again, my back against his front this time. He then draped his arm across my stomach, using his other hand, his playfully caressed my cheek with his fingers, like he did before, he must have known I liked it.  
He bought me indescribable comfort, I had never felt so warm and comforted in bed like this before. I hummed as his tickled my cheek lightly with his fingers, and he hummed back as he buried his face into the crook of my neck, I felt his eyes close, as he breathed lightly against my skin, his arm wrapping round me tightly, which bought me even closer to him.   
After feeling him kiss my head earlier, I wanted to kiss him so badly. I just wanted to turn round and feel his lips against mine. I was desperate to feel the softness of his lips, I wanted to feel pure pleasure trail through me as I kissed him. But I knew I couldn't, I had to resist it. For now all I could focus on was sleeping, Richards warmth, comfort and slow breathing was bringing me into my slumber, and soon enough, I drifted off…


	5. The Rally Drive

I woke up that morning, realising that Richard wasn't next to me. ‘Did he leave this morning?’ I thought. I slipped out of bed and made my way to the bathroom, brushed my hair and went downstairs. As I entered the kitchen I realised I could smell something cooking, and to my surprise Richard was cooking breakfast.  
“Morning sleepyhead” he said as he fiddled with pots and pans on the stove.  
“Morning, you didn't have to do all this!” I said.  
“I felt like you needed something good to start off your incredible day today!” He replied.  
I looked at him with confusion for a while, then realised what he meant.   
He put the pans in the sink and sat down at the table.  
“Come on then you, eat up!” He said pointing to the space next to him.  
I shuffled my way to the table, sat down, picked up my cutlery and started tucking into my breakfast.   
After finishing I offered to wash up, but Richard already beat me to it, he was being so incredibly nice. Seeing him at the sink washing up, I wanted to just wrap my arms round his waist and whisper ‘thank you’ in his ear.   
Instead I was commanded to sit in the living room and relax, so I did.

A few minutes later, Richard emerged from the kitchen with a cute smile on his face, his eyelids still slightly heavy.  
He sat beside me on the sofa while I was watching tv, and pulled me into him so he could cuddle me. We said nothing, but we did hum quietly as we cuddled, and continued watching tv.

Later on I had to get ready for going to Dunsfold to test out the new Lambo for Top Gear, so we trailed off upstairs to get changed. After I got ready, I went downstairs, Richard already standing by the door waiting for me so he could say goodbye. I approached him as I took my keys.  
“You have fun today then” he said “and I can't wait for you to come to mine afterwards”   
“nor can I, I'm really looking forward to it” I replied.  
Then turning my key in the door to open it, we walked out and I locked the door behind me, then walking him to his car.   
“Drive safe then, and I'll see you later” I said.  
“Sure thing sweetheart, you drive safe too, especially with that Lambo!” He giggled.  
He then kissed my forehead longingly and tenderly, then we hugged for a long while. After letting go he climbed into his car and I waved as I walked backwards to my car. Driving out, we waved and departed, making my way to Dunsfold excitedly.

When I finished my shoot, I was full of adrenaline after driving that Lambo, and really excitable. Getting back into my own car really downed my mood because it wasn't as fast at the Lamborghini was. But knowing I was going to Richards for some rally driving made me happy again.

Arriving at his house, I could see Richard already outside in his garage with an open bonnet over his head. As I got out my car he threw a dirty rag to the side and placed the bonnet down with the slightest slam, then turning to me.   
“Hello! How'd it go then? Is it good?” He asked.  
“Better than good, it's wild! Amazing car!” I replied.  
He smiled as I said so.  
“Ah I'm so glad you had fun, but now we're gonna have more fun” he said with a grin on his face.   
I stared at the car behind him and smiled. It was a Subaru WRX Impreza, a car made for rallying.   
“I cannot wait” I said, excitement written all over my face as well as Richards.  
“Let's go then!” He said as he ran towards the driver side of the car.   
I ran to the passenger side and fastened my seatbelt, as I did I realised a bit of grease on Richards face.  
“Oh, you've got some dirt on your face” I said giggling.  
“Where?” He said looking in the wing-mirror “can you get it off for me?”   
I then wiped my thumb over his forehead a few times until it came off, Richard looking into my eyes the whole time.   
“Thanks!” He said eventually, starting the engine.   
We then raced off to the rally track, and soon enough we were there.   
It wasn’t an official rally track, it was a field, with a track carved into the ground where others had been racing on it. It was a huge track though, and with the weather being rainy and wet, it looked ever so fun.

“Wow!” I said as we approached.   
“I know” Richard replied.  
He then drove onto the track, looking towards me as if to say ‘are you ready?’ And I nodded.   
With that Richard put his foot down, as the car sprayed mud from the back wheels. Slipping and sliding through the mud, he whizzed onwards, making the car drift. We screamed with joy as he went round and round the track.   
He eventually stopped and let me have ago.   
“Put the roof down” he suggested.  
“What? Are you mad?” I said.  
He raised an eyebrow.  
“Okay thennnnn” I said, with the flick of a switch the roof was down, and the rain came splattering in.   
I then put my foot down and had my turn to race round the track. We were both very overexcited, and full of adrenaline.   
We took our turns over and over again, rain pouring and mud splattering over us, we were having so much fun together.

Richard coming to a stop he sat nearly breathlessly and looked towards me.  
“This is so fun, but it's getting dark now we better get back” he said.  
“Yeah, okay, that's a good idea” I replied.  
When we returned home, we parked up the car and walked into the house sopping wet and dirty, being greeted by his beloved dogs. Richard escorted them to their beds and then I followed him to his room.   
“I should have some spare pyjamas here for you just hang on a sec” he said opening his wardrobe.   
“Oh do you want me to stay then?” I said smiling.  
“Of course I do, I want nothing more than for you to be here with me” he looked back smiling, and then continued searching for some clothes.  
He then pulled out some pyjamas for me and him, and placed them on the bedside table. He disappeared into the bathroom and then came out with a wet cloth.   
“Come here” he said kneeling down in front of me, cupping my face with his hand and wiping my face with the cloth. After my face was clean of mud, he caressed my cheek for a second smiling, then handed the cloth to me, swapping places. I did the same and wiped the mud off his face.   
“Thank you” he said taking the cloth back from me.   
We stood up and grabbed our pyjamas, I went into the bathroom and quickly slipped them on, then came out to greet him again. When he saw me he came towards me and placed his hands on my waist, pulling me slightly closer to him.  
“I had fun today, thank you for coming” he said looking down into my eyes and tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear.   
“That's okay, thank you as well” I said, letting a smile creep across my face.

His hands still on my waist, he pulled me into bed with him. Doing just as he did last night, I turned off the light, then we snuggled closer together.   
He kissed the top of my head.  
“Goodnight sweet” he murmured into my ear.  
“Goodnight babs” I replied.


	6. The trip to Italy (pt 1)

When we began to do the fourth series for Top Gear, we were told we needed to do a segment for one episode in which we needed to travel to Italy. We were going to celebrate Italian cars, so we were told to pick the Italian car we wanted to have during the trip. I chose the Alfa Giulietta , James had the Fiat Panda (of course), Jeremy had the Alfa 8C and Richard had the Fiat 500c.   
I was impressed by my car choice but James disagreed, whereas the others agreed with me. James was just being odd, of course we all argued with James about his car being, well basically shit.

When we got on the plane, me and Richard had kept ourselves to ourselves for too long, so we decided to sit together away from the others so we had some time with each other without them lurking over us. Me and Richard were aware that we couldn't tell Jeremy and James what we have done together, and it was a definite no no to telling them about our sleepovers. They have sort of realised already that me and Richard do have feelings for each other, but we denied it all. It was still early days, we haven't even done that much together, so we agreed ages ago that nothing was to be said about us going out and doing activities together, and especially about our sleepovers, otherwise their suspicions will raise instantly. We were to keep our stories to ourselves.

When we were seated on the plane, me and Richard smiled at each other, and talked about how excited we were to be going to Italy. Here and then, Richard would slip his hand into mine, our fingers interlocking with each other's, but whenever someone walked past or talked to us, we would quickly break apart, and when they disappeared we would hold hands again.

When we arrived in Italy, we were transported to the hotel. It was about 11 o’clock by the time we reached the hotel, and when we arrived to our rooms, we were told that there were only two rooms between us, so we had to pair up.   
“I'll go with Jess, then you two go with each other, I'm not having your bloody snoring waking me up” Richard said.  
Jeremy and James looked at each other and giggled, then looked back at Richard.  
“Awwwww you two sharing a room, how cute” Jeremy crooned.  
“ Jess and Richard in a room togetherrrr, if you slip into bed with her we would totally understand mate” James said.  
“Oh but don't go doing the dirty now will you Richard” Jeremy laughed.  
“You are both so childish” I said.  
“shut up both of you” Richard couldn’t help but giggle a bit, so I giggled with him.  
“Goodnight, and don't let the hamster bite!” Jeremy laughed again, as him and James shut the door behind them.

Me and Richard entered our room, and slumped our luggage to the side, closing the door behind us. We looked at each other when we saw that the bed was a double.  
“I'm so glad we have a bed to share” Richard said softly, placing his hands on my waist.   
“Me too” I replied, smiling at him.  
I looked over towards the other side of the room and my face lightened with joy.   
“Hey Richard there's a balcony!” I said as I ran to open the doors.  
The doors flew open and revealed a lit up balcony.   
“Aww, it's gorgeous!” I said.  
“What, you mean just like you?” Richard crooned in my ear.  
“You Richard Hammond, need to stop your flirting” I giggled as I turned towards him.  
“Do I? But I enjoy winding you up” he giggled back.  
“Oh lord stop it” I begged.  
“Make me” Richard challenged, his hands still on my waist, now pushing me up against the rail slightly at the end of the balcony.  
He looked deep into my eyes, full of lust.   
“I can't help myself anymore” he said. “Come here” He then placed his hand on the back of my neck, and guided my face closer to his.   
This was it, we were finally going to do what we have been longing to do for ages.   
Those soft brown eyes made me give in easily, I let him guide me closer, and eventually, our lips met with ease. I opened my mouth to him, and let his tongue meet mine as we kissed deeply and intensely. His hands crept under the hem of my shirt, his warm enticing fingertips touching my stone cold skin, it sent shivers up my spine and made me press against his body harder. His kissing became more passionate, as I ran my fingers through his hair and tugged on it, which caused him to let out a growl which then caused him to kiss back with even more lust. We hummed as we let go, my face only inches away from his, his aftershave made me breathe deeply, so I could take in his wonderful scent.   
“I've been waiting to do that for a very long time” He smiled.  
“It was lovely” I replied caressing his cheek. “In fact, I wouldn't mind much if you did it again?” I requested.  
“Ah ah ah” Richard said, placing a finger on my lips before I could make a move.  
“First, we're going to bed, you Mrs, are way up past your bedtime” he said playfully.  
“Your such a tease” I said.  
“Anything to please you my sweet” he replied, forming a charming smile as he ushered me back to the bedroom.

Afterwards, we got our Pj’s on and climbed into bed. I excitedly waited for him to make his move and kiss me again.  
“Come closer darling” he said.  
I shifted as close as I could towards him. He placed a hand on my cheek.  
“You're so beautiful”   
I blushed and turned away from his gaze, then looked back again.   
“Thank you handsome” I replied.  
“Me? Handsome? Nah, stop lying”   
“Seriously”  
“Nah, I'm really not”  
“Hammond” I said as I held his face in my hands.  
He stopped talking and looked at me straight in the eye.  
“You're fucking gorgeous. Your eyes, your smile, your hair. Everything about you is just… Adorable. Now stop denying cutie, or I'll have to do something to make you shut up” I said.  
He looked at me with wide eyes, surprised that I said all those things about him.   
“God never mind you making me shut up, I'll do that for you right now this second” He said instantly kissing me deeply and passionately once more.   
Heck, this was going to be a great trip...


	7. The trip to Italy (pt 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a short one.  
> Sorryyyyyyy :)

We were rudely awakened the next morning by Jeremy and James banging their fists against our door.   
“Come on guys get upppp!!” James shouted.  
“Never mind James, Richards probably too busy snogging her face off” Jeremy laughed.  
“Will you two pipe down now, we're getting up!” Richard shouted back, his eyes half open.  
“Aww, are we getting up?” I whispered.  
“Unfortunately” he muttered, kissing me on the forehead before leaping out of bed.  
I decided to eventually get out of bed, carrying my clothes to the bathroom to get changed.

After getting ready, I realised Richard had already gone down to breakfast. I trailed down the stairs and then I arrived at the table, the three of them talking between themselves.   
“Oh there you are” Jeremy said as he and James left to get breakfast.  
“I was gonna wait for you sweet but they pulled me down with them” Richard said, placing his hand on mine. He then looked around timidly, and gave me a quick kiss on the lips, smiling as he sat back in his chair. I smiled back.  
“let's go get something to eat then” I said. “I'm starving”   
“Yeah same” he replied as we stood up and walked over to the buffet.

From breakfast, we were being filmed, so me and Richard had to keep to ourselves for a while. Sometimes it was way too much for us to bear, Richard would only give to odd touch now and then when cameras were out of sight, but we were careful.

When the day ended, we went to the bar for a drink. We laughed and joked endlessly. I was so proud how far we've come. We were on the fourth series, getting amazing reviews, everyone loved us and the programme itself. I sat there thinking what good friends I have, and how lucky I am to have them, to finally have a group of friends where I could sit and have a drink with them having the funniest conversations. I felt so grateful that night, realising what I have.   
After many jokes were made (especially about me and Richard) we needed to get to bed, as we were leaving early tomorrow morning to go back home. We went to our rooms that night, me and Richard cuddled up in bed.   
“I've had so much fun on this trip” I said.  
“I know, I kinda don't wanna leave” Richard replied, holding me tighter.   
“Me neither” I said.   
“We’ll come back some day I think” he said, kissing my clammy forehead.   
With that we drifted off to sleep all too suddenly… 


	8. The Sudden Turn of Events

When we arrived back home we were told we needed to report back to the studio the day after, just to do some voice overs for the filming.   
We then departed and headed off home, but then Richard came up beside me in his car when I was just about to leave.  
“Jess?” He shouted.  
“Yessss?”   
“Can I come home with you?”   
“Yeahhh I guess so!”   
I then got in my car and drove away, Richard following close behind.   
We arrived and leaped out of our cars to meet with each other, and embraced our hug.   
“Damn I've missed hugging you” He said.   
“I have too” I replied.  
“Let's go inside, how bout a hot chocolate?” He said, a warm smile creeping across his face.  
“Yes! I would love a hot chocolate” I said excitably.

We entered the house and Daniel came running up to us.   
“Well at least I know my brother had been to look after him thank god, thought he would forget” I said as I gave Dan a scratch behind his ears.   
Richard then said hello to him as I walked into the kitchen to make hot chocolate for us. As I reached into the cupboard for some mugs, I felt him close his arms around my waist.   
“Oh hello!” I said in surprise.  
“Can I help with anything?” He asked.  
“It's fine, I'm only making hot chocolate what could possibly go wrong?” I smirked.  
“Alrighty, I'll go sit down then” he said calmly kissing my temple, then walking away slowly.  
I came back into the room with our mugs and sat beside him. We watched all our favourite episodes of Downton Abbey, cuddled up on the sofa after finishing our hot chocolate. Then we made our way up to bed afterwards, as I was falling asleep on the sofa.

The next day me and Richard made our way to Dunsfold. Upon our arrival, we saw James and Jeremy standing next to the car park, laughing. When we walked up to them, they continued to giggle.   
“What's so funny?” I ask.  
“Well, it's just funny the fact how you two have shown up at the same time that's all” Jeremy replied.  
Me and Richard looked at each other and shrugged.   
“I met up with her before we went okay?” Richard lied. “Just had a coffee with her before we came here”   
I nodded my head in agreement.

We walked into the recording studio to do our voice overs, and it was hilariously funny when James was talking about how good his Panda was, we couldn't help laugh sometimes.   
We finished soon enough and I walked over to the production office to go get some paperwork for the producer. I came back and saw the three of them talking quietly, until I heard Jeremy shout.  
“You took her rally driving?!” He said.  
‘No, he wouldn't, would he? He told them?’ I stood behind them quietly listening.  
“Yeah, it was fun! She's really good!” Richard said.  
“You two are well cute together” James said. “You like her and we all know it”  
“Well…yeah… I do” Richard said. “I even kissed her for gods sake”   
“You kissed her?!?!” Jeremy and James shouted in unison.  
‘How could he?? He told me he wouldn't tell!’ My heart sank, I felt betrayed.   
“Yeah, I kissed her, the other night in Italy” He went on.  
“Oooo, this is interesting!” Jeremy said. “What was it like?”  
Before I heard Richard open his mouth I stormed off. Unfortunately Jeremy saw me.  
“Hey Jess come over here!! I think you have something to tell us!” Jeremy laughed.  
I turned around for a second, tears streaming down my face, to see Richard, running after me. He knew I heard.   
I stormed away again before he could catch me, I didn't want to speak to him.   
I swung my car door open aggressively, but Richard managed to catch up and grabbed my wrist.  
“Jess please, I'm sorry” he said.   
“You promised you wouldn't tell” I said in a cold, sinister tone.  
“They wouldn't stop asking me I'm sorry I really am”  
“Really? You seemed quite eager to tell them”   
“I wasn't, you know what they're like, Jess please don't go”   
I was too angry to listen.  
“You said to me you wouldn't tell, now what do you think they're going to think of me?” I questioned.  
“They won't think of you any different!” He replied.  
I turned on the engine.  
“Jess please don't, we can sort this”  
I looked at him, staring into his eyes, he looked truly upset that he upset me.   
“We can sort this later, right now I can't face it” I said, tears still escaping my eyes. With that I drove away, leaving Richard standing there, watching me go.

I was so angry with him, I didn't want to be, but he promised he wouldn't say anything until I was ready to. He knew about my past relationship, he should have known how frail I was to people telling lies to me. For a moment I regretted leaving him. ‘Why didn't I just sort it with him there and then’ I thought.   
I drove on, wiping my tears away, eyes half open, stinging from the crying. I struggled to keep them open while going round the roundabout but then I saw an oncoming car, speeding in my direction. The car kept coming from the exit I was approaching. Every part of me wanted to stop, but if I did I would cause destruction behind me. I didn't know what to do, I started panicking as the car came closer, it wasn't going to stop, I wasn't going to stop in time. All too suddenly, it went dark…


	9. Stitching Up the Wounds

I woke up to bright lights shining in my eyes. I was distorted and confused. My eyes half open and heavy. ‘What on earth happened’ I then heard a loud voice.   
“Richard! Come here she's awake!”   
I looked towards the door in front of me, and it flew open.   
“Oh baby you’re okay!”  
It was Richard. A face I knew and loved, I was so relieved. Jeremy and James walked in afterwards, grins on their faces.  
Richard ran to my side and placed his hand on mine.   
“Richard!” I stammered quietly, trying to sound relieved that he was here.   
“What happened?”   
“You were in an accident sweetheart, I was so worried about you, are you feeling okay?” He said as he kissed my hand.  
It all then came back to me, I remembered.  
“Oh shit” I said. “What about the car?”   
“Don’t worry about that, we're just glad that you're okay”   
James and Jeremy nodded in agreement.  
“I'll just go phone Andy to say that your awake” Jeremy said.  
“Yeah, and I'll go phone your parents, they're very worried about you” James then went after Jeremy, which left me and Richard alone.  
“Look, I'm so sorry about what happened before” Richard explained.  
“They wouldn't shut up, they kept pressuring me, I really didn't mean to hurt you”  
I sat up and placed my hand on his cheek.   
“It's okay sweet, I understand, I overreacted” I said calmly.  
Richard started to well up with tears.  
“I'm so sorry” he said as a tear escaped his eye.   
I pulled him into me and held him.   
“This is my fault” he said.  
“What is?” I replied.  
“Your accident”  
“Don't you dare say that, it was not your fault” I held him tighter.  
“If I wasn't such a dick and upset you, you wouldn't have crashed”   
“No, it was that fuckwit who sped into the side of me, it was his fault not you”   
Richard kept quiet for a bit, then spoke again.  
“I could have lost you, I don't know what I would have done if you didn't wake up”   
“Don't worry, I'm here” I reassured him.  
We held each other for a bit longer, then broke apart when the nurse came in to check on me.

After my parents visited me briefly to check that I was okay, a doctor came in to tell me what is wrong with me specifically. I had only suffered a minor head injury which was bound to clear up in a few days, and a few bumps and bruises. He told me that I was incredibly lucky, and I really was considering the impact the crash had upon my car.   
The news about my accident had hit the headlines fast, and I was already receiving gifts and cards from fans and loved ones. I was really overwhelmed by how much people cared about me, and I was so happy to see that they didn't just care about me, but about Richard, James and Jeremy too. Knowing that your best friend has been in an accident isn't the easiest thing to take in, and I was so glad to see that everyone cared for them too.

As the days went past, visitors, doctors and nurses went backwards and forwards, treating me, giving me painkillers and food. With some persuasion, the doctor decided that I would be able to be discharged tomorrow. We were all so overjoyed, especially me and Richard.   
After I was transferred to a better and more private room earlier on in the week, Richard had been sleeping with me on my bed. I didn't want him to leave my side, and he didn't want to leave me, we had become so much closer to each other as the days went by.

That night before I was due to be discharged, I overheard a conversation Richard was having with Jeremy and James. I had just come out the toilet and hid behind a wall to overhear them.  
“We know Richard” Jeremy said.  
“What you on about?” Richard replied.  
“You care so much about her, because, well…” James said.  
“You love her, don't you?” Jeremy interrupted. “Like, really truly love her”  
Richard looked down and shuffled his feet, looking slightly embarrassed.   
I tried to sneak past to my room in the mean time, as casually as possible, but they saw me. Richard looked up and pasted a charming smile on his face.  
“Hiya! Shall we get ready for you to leave tomorrow then?” He said.  
“Yeah sure!” I replied fairly speechless after hearing what Jeremy said.  
“You okay?” I asked when we entered my room.   
“I'm good, never been better, I'm so glad your coming out tomorrow, and I insist you stay at mine while your getting better, so I can help you” Richard replied.   
“You're way too kind, what did I do to deserve you?” I smiled.  
Richard then pulled me into a close hug. It wasn't like any other hug we've had before, it lasted much longer than usual, he buried his head into the crook of my neck, closing his eyes, and I did the same to him. We held each other for a long while.  
“You're kind to me, so I'll be kind to you” he said.   
“That's sweet of you” I replied.   
He held me tighter.   
We eventually broke apart and smiled.   
“Let's get ready then, and go to bed, I'm knackered!” He said.  
“Good idea!” 


	10. Coming Home

When getting up the next morning, Richard helped me grab my bags so we could go home. The nurse gave me and Richard advice on how to help myself recover in the best possible way.  
“Also, although she only suffered minor head injury, just be aware that she may have moments of confusion and may get some bad migraines, even though I don't think you will, I still have to tell you of course” she explained.  
Me and Richard took in everything the nurse said, and then I was given the all clear to go home.   
Walking out of the hospital doors bought me major relief.  
“Fresh air!” I said laughing and breathing in heavily.  
Richard walked me to his car, putting my possessions in the boot.   
Climbing into his seat, Richard let out a relieved sigh and turned to me.  
“So, we're gonna have to go to your place first, get your clothes and stuff and pick up Daniel, so then you can come to my place afterwards. Sound good?” He smiled.   
I nodded.   
“Sounds brill! Can't wait!” I replied.

Our drive home was short, and I was so happy when we arrived back at my place. Clambering out of the car when it was finally stationary, I could hear Daniel barking. Usually it annoyed the hell out of me, but I was so happy to hear it. I opened the front door and Daniel came running, jumping on me and giving me lots of kisses.   
“Aww I missed you too sweetheart” I crooned, giving him a good patting and scratching.   
Richard following close behind, we went upstairs to grab my stuff. It seemed to take forever to get everything I needed, but eventually we had everything packed, moving bags into the boot of Richards car.   
I grabbed Daniels lead and his cage, placing him in the cage into the back of the car. His excited barks made me excited.   
We soon set off, a barking dog in the back, a handsome man driving me home, and a half broken me sitting impatiently.   
We arrived at Richards minutes later, and I went round to grab my bags.  
“Leave them a minute, let's get settled in first sweet” Richard said offering his hand out to lead me in. I shrugged then took his hand into mine.   
Unlocking the front door, Richard walked in with me, Daniel by our side. He lead me into the living room, and to my surprise, a huge crowd jumped out.   
“Surprise!!” They shouted.  
“Welcome home darling” James said coming up to me and giving me a hug, Jeremy doing the same. The whole of the Top Gear team were here.  
“Wow! Thank you so much guys!” I stuttered.  
“Don't thank us, thank your incredible Richard here” Andy the producer said.   
I looked at Richard smiling.  
“You did this did you?” I asked..  
“Of course I did!” He replied.   
“Why?” I said.   
Richard then, grabbed both of my hands in his, looking into my eyes deeply.   
“Because I love you” he said.  
The whole room fell silent.  
“What?” I said, truly astonished.  
“I love you” he repeated.  
I smiled like I never had before.  
“I love you too Richard Hammond” I said, giggling afterwards.   
Richard then leaned in and kissed me deeply.   
Everyone clapped and cheered.  
“I KNEW IT!” Jeremy shouted.   
We pulled away smiling.  
“So what about it then?” Richard asked.  
“What about what?” I said.  
He raised an eyebrow.  
“Be my girlfriend obviously!” He said giggling.  
“You serious?!” I asked.  
“Never been so serious in my life, I love you and I want you to be mine” he replied.  
“Hell yeah!” I said hugging him.   
Everyone clapped and cheered again.  
“You two are adorable together, should have known it was gonna happen one day” Jeremy said as he walked up to us, shaking Richards hand.   
“well done mate, your girlfriends hot by the way” he laughed.   
We laughed with him and I thanked him and James for all his support at the hospital.

When everyone left, me and Richard sat on the sofa cuddling, a mug of hot chocolate for us both on each side of the coffee table, watching the tv aimlessly, Daniel and the rest of the dogs curled up at our feet.   
“This is all so perfect” I said.   
“You're perfect” Richard said.   
I looked up at him.  
“My funny little hamster” I said squishing his cheeks playfully.  
We giggled and smiled.   
“I love you so much baby” he said once again.  
“I love you too sweetheart, I love you too…”


End file.
